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UC Davis-led conference promotes new collaborations in Brazil

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) —

An interdisciplinary delegation of researchers and educators, led by UC Davis, met this month at the Integrated Biological Networks Driving Disease Outcomes conference in Uberlândia, Brazil, to explore new opportunities for collaboration with the Brazilian Research Network in the biomedical and translational sciences.

The conference was held at the Universidade Federal de Uberlandia (UFU), one of the country's most prominent public universities and a key partner in expanding UC Davis Health System's connections to Brazil. Nearly 200 colleagues from throughout the country attended, including representatives from public and private research foundations, as well as investigators, postdoctoral scholars and students from multiple universities.

Attendees at the Brazilian Research Network conference included, from left, Dr. Marcio de Castro Silva Filho, director of CAPES; UC Davis Vice Chancellor Claire Pomeroy; Dr. Cassiano D'Almeida, Brazil National Council for Scientific and Technological Development; Dr. Domingos A. Rade, the State Secretariat for Science, Technology and Higher Education and the Foundation for Research Support of the State of Minas Gerais; and UC Davis faculty Dr. Luiz Ricardo Goulart and Dr. Satya Dandekar.

Co-chairs of the conference were Satya Dandekar, professor and chair of medical microbiology and immunology at UC Davis School of Medicine, and Luiz Goulart, a professor at UFU's Institute of Genetics and Biochemistry and visiting professor in UC Davis' medical microbiology and immunology department.

Goulart and Dandekar first began working with UFU in 2009, promoting scholarly activities, research collaborations, and faculty and trainee exchanges.

"Interactions with Brazilian institutions provide UC Davis students, researchers and clinicians tremendous opportunities for new collaboration and study," said Dandekar. "Like the United States, Brazil has an extraordinarily diverse population and faces challenges of human and plant diseases. Pathogens know no borders, and international collaborations like this enable scientists to leverage their strengths and apply 'One World One Health ' approaches to improve health. Areas of study will range from defining the biological networks driving disease outcomes to developing new biomarkers and sensor platforms for the detection and management of infectious diseases and cancer, which affect communities worldwide."

The conference focused on expanding UC Davis' existing relationships with Brazil, especially in the fields of biomedical research and translational science. Claire Pomeroy, vice chancellor for human health sciences and dean of the School of Medicine at UC Davis, participated in the conference's opening ceremony. The Brazilian Research Network presented Pomeroy with an Award for Innovation in Health and Social Responsibility in recognition of her dedication to improving human health and reducing health disparities.

Sumathi Sankaran-Walters, a fellow in the Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) program.

Health system projects that result from this conference will complement existing Brazilian programs at UC Davis, including 12 agreements of cooperation with Brazilian educational and research organizations and the Brazilian Scientific Mobility Program, which has funding for more than 100 Brazilian fellowships at UC Davis in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. These programs underscore Brazil's significant investment in a knowledge-based economy and in the advancement of science.

"International collaborations are vital to achieving our educational and research missions," said Berglund. "Perspectives of researchers from other regions of the world inspire us to ask new questions, find better solutions, and increase the scope, quality and impact of our work."

The collaboration with Brazil represents UC Davis' and UC Davis Health System's commitment to improve lives and transform health care at the local, national and global levels. It is one of the many international relationships UC Davis Health System has developed over the years to improve health, including projects with Mexico, China, Korea and Sweden.

UC Davis Health System is improving lives and transforming health care by providing excellent patient care, conducting groundbreaking research, fostering innovative, interprofessional education, and creating dynamic, productive partnerships with the community. The academic health system includes one of the country's best medical schools, a 619-bed acute-care teaching hospital, a 1000-member physician's practice group and the new Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing. It is home to a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, an international neurodevelopmental institute, a stem cell institute and a comprehensive children's hospital. Other nationally prominent centers focus on advancing telemedicine, improving vascular care, eliminating health disparities and translating research findings into new treatments for patients. Together, they make UC Davis a hub of innovation that is transforming health for all. For more information, visit healthsystem.ucdavis.edu.